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Good job! That was a nice fan-fic for my birthday! Anyway, I loved the way you made Cherubi act like a teenager. And with Croagunk always right behind the Cherubi, it led for comedic suspense that made me laugh! Nice chapter, anyway!

Hi to new readers! It is nicer when you say more than just 'great story', though, cause I need to know what was great about it. Remember that any author is looking to improve!

This one took me a bit, not because it was difficult, but because I was writing the two upcoming holiday stories too. I think the Froslass one is pretty; somebody reminded me that at sundown on the 21st, Hanukkah starts, so I added that to the winter solstice story. And the Articuno story? Yeah, it's gonna be longer than usual. And it involves one of my favorite game characters ever! Okay, so he's not from the Pokemon games... but still!

SHELGON
Emerald entry: It hardly eats while it awaits evolution. It becomes hardier by enduring hunger. Its shell peels off the instant it begins to evolve.

SALAMENCE
Sapphire entry: By evolving into Salamence, this Pokemon finally realizes its long-held dream of growing wings. To express its joy, it flies and wheels all over the sky while spouting flames from its mouth.

Shelby lay in the darkest part of the room, under the bed. He smelled a pot roast. A lovely pot roast: beef cooked with onions, carrots, black pepper, thyme, sage, and bay... it smelled so good. It had been one of his favorite foods for the longest time. His body was feeling weak with hunger. But he remained under the bed.

The blanket was pulled up; a girl’s face appeared. “Come on, Shelby or it’ll get cold. Come out and eat.”

He remained still. He would be strong, no matter what. He could survive, even through this test. And it was a test, to see if his determination and willpower was enough to reach full glory. But the onions and beef... that would be wonderfully tasty, melting in his mouth... no. He must endure temptation for the grand dream.

The girl dropped the blanket. “Please? I can’t see how this can be normal. That dragon tamer guy must be crazy.” She sighed and plopped onto her bed.

Shelby whined, feeling bad for making her worry. But she didn’t understand. Every Shelgon had to go through with this. If he failed and gave into temptation, he would be this way for longer. This sluggish, heavy body, it wasn’t what he wanted at all. If he endured, he would be rewarded.

Above him, there was a tear of an envelope being unsealed and a flap of folded paper being opened. He closed his eyes. This was tough. He wanted to eat, yes, but he wanted to be able to fly even more. Everything had to be sacrificed for the dream at this time. But how much longer?

The bed creaked as his Trainer sat up quickly. “Aw shoot,” she said, deep concern shading her words. “I have to go back. But... dang it, I’m too far from home now. I don’t have any Pokemon that can Fly back. And one of them is starving himself. This stinks.” She dropped back onto bed and punched it.

About that time, his shell cracked.

Was it time? He opened his eyes and was caught surprised when not only did his shell pop off, but he also abruptly grew significantly bigger. His head knocked into the bed, not enough to knock him out, but enough to make it throb. The girl yelped when the bed was bumped up; it threatened to break with a snap of wood.

But he was finally a Salamence. Happy, but more hungry than happy right now, he crawled out from under the bed and gulped down the pot roast, mushy onions and all. It was wonderful. Obviously, she had gone out of her way to buy a nice piece of meat for this.

“Shelby?” She hopped off the bed, in case it decided to break. “Oh great! Do you feel better now?”

He felt better than he ever had. He growled contentedly when she hugged his neck, thanking her for making the roast for him.

“I’m glad you’re eating again. But, you have wings now? Do you think you can fly me back home?” She clasped the letter she had been reading. “My mom’s gotten badly sick; she’s in the hospital, so I need to go see her soon. Can you take me?”

Well, he’d never flown before, certainly not with a passenger. But he had to make up for a number of things now, from the delicious pot roast to making her worry for several days. Shelby nodded.

“Thanks! I’ve got the Fly HM around somewhere. Let’s go outside.” She took his Pokeball and recalled him; it would be harder for him to go through doorways and halls now.

When she released him, they were on a grassy patch near the Pokecenter. Sitting on the ground, she pulled out her TM case and shuffled through the CDs she had collected. They hadn’t been well organized, so it took her a minute to find the white HM Fly. She pulled it out of its slot, then placed it in the reader on the other end of the case. The reader was hooked up to a clear gem that refracted light into rainbows. This prism was a psychic transmitter that could translate signals from the CD reader. It unfortunately tended to destroy most CDs, but the HM CDs were sturdy enough to withstand repeated use.

“Okay, this shouldn’t take long.” She stood back up and placed the case close to Shelby’s head. Once he nodded, she activated the machine.

Shelby listened to the machine’s hum. The gem sent a train of thought into his mind: how his wings would work most efficiently, what air currents could do to him, how a passenger would change his center of balance. He had an instinctual method for flight and this HM was enhancing what he knew.

After five minutes, the machine shut off. “You feel confident?” she asked.

He nodded and spread his wings. He’d waited long enough and he wanted to fly now. Never mind that a trek back to her home town was quite a distance to go. Shelby felt like he could fly halfway around the world.

Good. Smiling, he beat his wings and jumped into the air. She gasped in surprise and gripped him tighter. Pulling his forelegs in, he grabbed hold of her ankles to secure her, then set off over town. Being free of the ground and soaring high.... well, soaring low over the ground... it was better than any dream he had had over his whole life.

Some time after they left town, she stopped trembling and leaned forward. “This is amazing,” she said. “You can go higher now, if you want.”

Roaring happily in response, he climbed into the sky with her.

Pokedex OS- Still trying to capture every single Pokemon out there in words: 648/718 Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh complete!

Okay, I really liked how you made TMs/HMs work. As in, REALLY liked it. It makes more sense that all the millions of weird theories floating around about it.
The evolution was a bit abrupt, but aside from that, great job. ^_^

The way you made TM/HM's work was awesome. Shelby's thoughts were written well. Agreed with TheSeqR. you made his character pretty well. DarkDT i agree with also, the evolution seemed a little to soon, probably could have made it a little more suspenseful. I enjoyed it though, i could almost taste that roast.

So, it's the shortest day/longest night of the year, the first day of winter. And Hanukkah starts tonight, so if I happen to have any Jewish readers out there, happy Hanukkah!

And if you were wondering why I said no to Jirachi for a Christmas one-shot, it's because I wrote a Jirachi story for the sci-fi/fantasy contest. I'm doing a bit or rework on it, but that should show up in its own thread sometime this week.

FROSLASS
D/P entry: It freezes foes with an icy breath nearly -60 degrees F. What seems to be its body is actually hollow.

She wasn’t sure what had happened. A deafening light; her ears were still ringing. An explosion? Maybe. It had gone by so fast: one second in a quiet refuge, the next second screaming and pain. Had she died? She didn’t know that either. But the fact that she was thinking, that was promising.

Assuming that she was alive, Froslass opened her eyes. It was a white room, hushed, with green curtains. Someone had placed her on a bed, but hadn’t put a blanket over her. Instead, the blanket was bundled up around her. That was nice; she usually slept in a shallow pit of snow or dirt, so whoever put her here knew about her kind. And the person must have healed her, for despite a possible explosion, she felt no pain anywhere. She left the bed and floated out past the curtains.

A blue haired woman spotted her. “Good, you’ve woke up. You’re free to do as you like, although the man who brought you in is waiting in the lobby for word on you.”

“<That’s kind of him,>” she said softly, then floated towards the door.

The nurse went ahead of her and opened it for her. There were several people in that room, although only one got up upon seeing her. It was a bearded man wearing a long black coat and a black hat. The nurse nodded to him. “She’s all right now. You got her here just in time; there shouldn’t be any permanent damage.”

He nodded. “Good. We’re lucky that bomb didn’t hurt anyone else, but it wouldn’t be right if we left an innocent Pokemon as a victim.”

A bomb? A man-made weapon; she wondered what it had been in the middle of town for. She bowed to the man who saved her. “<Thank you.>”

“You’re welcome.” He left the Pokecenter and she followed him. Once they were outside, he turned back to her. “You’re free to go back to your home in the wilderness. God bless you, Froslass.”

“<I see.>” She bowed again, then flew off towards the forest.

But not too far away, she stopped and turned back. The man had saved her life, after all. She should do something for him. But what? He obviously showed no interest in capturing her. Maybe he had his own Pokemon and that was enough for him. There might still be some other way of repaying him.

Flying as stealthily as she could, she went back and searched for him.

-+-

Froslass settled in a tree outside of a large old building. The man in the black coat was standing there with another dressed similarly to him. The other looked older, with gray hairs instead of black. They were talking about the building, it seemed. Their breath turned to wispy vapors as they spoke, while the fog began to condense around them.

“It is sad that we’ve let the synagogue fall into disrepair,” the older man said. “But we’ve all had tough times lately and we’ve been focused on helping the families keep going. Things are getting better, slowly.”

“Can we raise enough money in time? Somebody on city council must still be against our presence.” Her hero seemed disheartened.

The older man patted his shoulder. “We will trust in God. Let us pray and consider the options. We must overcome this obstacle.”

“Yes.” The two men went inside.

Froslass stayed in the tree for a minute. She wasn’t sure what their problem was. It was something to do with this old building. They were trusting in God to help save the building somehow. Could she do something to help?

There was a flag on the synagogue. It was blue and white, like ice and snow, with a yellow six-pointed star in the center. Icicles from the previous night’s rain remained on the flagpole and building, although someone had gone to the effort to replace the flag. It gave her an idea. She had only done this previously in fun, but just maybe it could be useful.

The fog continued to thicken, which was perfect. By the yellow-brown glow of the streetlights, she skimmed over the parking lot and found a clear area. This would work. She dropped down to the ground and blew hard across the surface.

It was just below freezing this night, but her breath was far colder than that. The fog crystalized instantly, forming a layer of ice on the ground. She would need a large base, so she created a solid area of ice. And then built more layers on top of that. This would take a long time, but this was winter and it would be a long night.

When she felt that the blocky base was strong enough, she created two pillars growing out of each other, like an elegant heart. The fog remained thick, giving her enough moisture to work with. She had to watch how she balanced everything, so that the sculpture didn’t lean over and collapse. But it held up as she carefully blew on small portions of ice to join the two half-hearts into one whole.

Pausing for a moment, she looked over it. It was pretty, but not quite done. She checked the flag; as it was all-weather, it had been left out. She wanted to copy the star design onto the heart, to hang it within from the joining point. This would have to be planned carefully.

Froslass went back to the lower portion of the heart and began building the lower horizontal line. A gust of wind could mess her up terribly at this stage, but the air remained still. Slowly, she built the line. Then she built up two lines to make a triangle to the joining point. Icicles grew by water trickling down and freezing on the tip; she was building these in reverse, freezing water upwards. After she felt that was secure, she built an inverted triangle to complete the star.

It was pretty, but it left her exhausted, with a dry throat. She plucked one of the icicles off the synagogue roof and ate that. As the sun rose and started to clear the fog, she found a hidden nook and went to sleep.

-+-

By the time she woke up, the short-lived winter day was already gone. She ate a few more icicles, then went to check on her sculpture. It was still standing, but weakened a little by the sun’s light. It was foggy yet again, so she strengthened weak spots in the ice.

A crunch in the snow put her on alert, but it was the man who had saved her yesterday. “Then it is your work, Froslass.”

She nodded. “<A sign of my thanks, that is all. I worked hard on it.>”

“You must have worked hard all night to make it.” He smiled. “Many people came to see it, even those not of our faith. It’s something special.”

She brought her wings together on her chest. “<It is the biggest one I have made. The best so far, I think.>”

He turned to the sculpture and looked it over. “Many people came. And they heard of how our synagogue is in danger of being removed unless it is repaired. We’ve gotten many donations to help cover the cost. We’re not quite there yet, but we almost have enough money to cover everything. And it’s all thanks to your work here.”

“<Is it?>” she asked, bashfully cover her face. “<I didn’t mean to do that much.>”

He patted her. “Thank you, although I feel you did this in thanks to me. Perhaps God has worked through you today.”

Pokedex OS- Still trying to capture every single Pokemon out there in words: 648/718 Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh complete!

Good job, Ysavvryl! I like how you made Froslass act, almost as well as you did in my birthday story. I'd also like to reserve a Cherrim story on March 24th, because that's my brother's birthday. Thanks!

Froslass went back to the lower portion of the heart and began building the lower horizontal line. A gust of wind could mess her up terribly at this stage, but the air remained still. Slowly, she built the line. Then she built up two lines to make a triangle to the joining point. Icicles grew by water trickling down and freezing on the tip; she was building these in reverse, freezing water upwards. After she felt that was secure, she built an inverted triangle to complete the star.

“Good, you’ve woke up. You’re free to do as you like, although the man who brought you in is waiting in the lobby for word on you.”

Is the "you've woke up" correct way of saying it? I mean, I know people say it like that, but after reading it, it just seemed slightly off to me. Just really a note for myself than a comment on the grammar for it.

Keep them coming. Their good. I especially like how Froslass seemed so, ghost like lol. Floating here and there. Simple minded, and not empty headed but... listless i think is the proper term?

I have to agree with everybody else about the grammar thing, it's woken. Anyway, I forgot to review your Shelgon one. How could I have done that?! Anyway, I'd like to say that the Shelgon one was awesome as well, although most of your one-shots are. Hope you get my next request, because I really want it bad.

Ah, I would've thought Froslass would be a sneaky, mischievous girl. She's cool this way, though. *no pun intended* And to be hurt by a bomb! So ghost Pokemon are alive and damagable ... nice! Excellent job as usual. ^_^

ARTICUNO
R/S/E entry: Articuno is a legendary bird Pokemon that can control ice. The flapping of its wings chills the air. As a result, it is said that when this Pokemon flies, snow will fall.

ZAPDOS
Fire Red entry: One of the legendary bird Pokemon. While it is flying, it makes crackling and snapping sounds.

MOLTRES
Leaf Green entry: It is said to be the legendary bird Pokemon of fire. Every flap of its wings creates a dazzling flare of flames.

Cerulean City was sparkling with colored lights and festive decorations. Lying at the foot of Mount Moon, it was surrounded by snow and ice, both in the fields and in the rivers. But the humans managed to keep their city clear of winter’s signs. They even had evergreen plants hanging from lamp posts and other signs to remember the warmth and color of summer.

Articuno knew that, even though she was roosting on a mountain top some distance north of Cerulean. The city was just a sparkle of lights and snow-covered roofs from here. She had flown over the city late some nights, because she admired the people’s compulsion to decorate. She wondered if she should try decorating anything, but she lived on mountains that were forbidding to most creatures. There wouldn’t be anyone to admire her work.

And looking south was better than looking north right now. She kept an eye out that way, for she didn’t like what she saw. There was a large army of conquerors there. Since they hadn’t crossed into Kanto lands yet, she had no reason to do anything about them. But they were making a wide sweep of the area, blocking in her homeland. They were strong and well-disciplined, led by a brilliant if maybe mad general. It would be foolish to think that he wasn’t interested in taking over Kanto as well.

However, there was an agreement that she had to abide by. Because of that agreement, she couldn’t do anything about this army until they invaded Kanto. She kept thinking of sending word to her siblings Zapdos and Moltres, to warn them. She should.

There, Articuno had another problem to face. The last time they had met, it hadn’t ended well. It had been a foolish fight, she realized. Somehow the conversation had turned to which one of them was the strongest. They were all about equal in power. But then Zapdos had to point out that she was weak to both of their attacks, so she was the weakest, and he had strong attacks against both of them, so he was strongest. Moltres hadn’t taken that well, giving him a nasty burn on his wings, then leaving in a furious mood. She had snapped at him for inciting their younger sister, which made him mad at her. She thought about apologizing to Zapdos, but it didn’t feel right unless he apologized first. That had been well over three years ago.

Articuno ruffled out her wings, then twisted around to smooth out a few stray feathers. The humans used this time of year to celebrate family love, right? The thought made her feel more lonely without her siblings. It had been three years and it had been a stupid argument; couldn’t they make things up now? Especially with danger lurking over the horizon.

Looking closer around her mountain perch, she noticed a group that seemed to be stuck behind the results of a morning avalanche. It was four humans traveling by two sleds, one pulled by an Arcanine, the other a Ninetales. She wasn’t one to leave humans stranded in these dangerous (to them) mountain paths, so she left the mountaintop and came down to listen.

“We can’t just abandon this cause,” a man dressed as a priest said. “The people of Sunridge City are allies and an important trade partner. We must support them under this siege by General Slagle.”

“But the soldiers are watching the main trade route closely,” another man argued. “If we go that way, they’ll certainly attack us. There aren’t many safe paths through here during winter, so if all three of my routes are blocked off, there’s nothing we can do.”

“Surely there’s a way to get to the alternate path from the main route, once we get past the mountains.”

“Last time one of my boys went out that way, he found troops at the end of the mountain part of the route. No, it can’t be managed.”

One of the traders; she usually trusted them to pull through, save for during the worst storms. Since the humans were together discussing if they would continue, Articuno landed near Arcanine and Ninetales. “<Greeting, travelers,>” she said.

“<Greetings to you, lady of the glacier,>” Ninetales replied. “<We’re all right, just can’t get through.>”

“<Supplies to get them through the siege. You know, food, medicines, necessary things. And some toys.>”

“<Toys?>”

“<The priest said that the church women made a bunch of cloth dolls, wooden blocks, and wooden trucks,>” Ninetales recalled. “<War is hard on children, you know, so it should comfort them some.>”

“<Certainly.>” Articuno considered it. She wasn’t supposed to interfere; Sunridge City was out of her territory. But now that she thought of it, she wasn’t sure if any Pokemon in her league of power watched over Sunridge. If she just took the supplies to them and didn’t bother the army any, that shouldn’t be a problem. “<I could take the supplies that way, if you two cannot manage.>”

“<You would?>” Ninetales asked, tilting his head. “<It’s not part of Kanto.>”

“<If I can help, I will.>”

“<I’m sure they will be grateful.>” The two Pokemon barked to get the humans’ attentions.

The four of them were awed when they realized that she was there. There weren’t many Pokemon like her in the world; some humans said that she was the most beautiful in Kanto. She had dark blue feathers, some with an icy sheen that glistened in the winter sun. She had a long flowing tail that she kept clean and neat. She couldn’t speak to the humans, so she whistled gently.

The priest came up to her and bowed. “Articuno, if I may ask something of you... we are trying to take supplies up to Sunridge City, but the snow is blocking our path and an army stands in between us. Would you take them instead?”

She nodded.

“Thank you greatly.”

They then untied the two crates that held the donations. The crates were large and somewhat awkward, but she felt confident that she could manage them. Picking them up with her feet, she then took to the sky, heading for Sunridge. Snowflakes followed with every beat of her wings.

-+-

Being a part of Slagle’s army was a rough life for both people and Pokemon. There were daily training exercises that everyone had to do. There were long months on the road, long hours on patrol. The soldiers pressed on, though, either from respect or fear of their brazen leader.

Ashton had joined a year ago, hoping for a better turn to his life. Bad luck seemed to follow him everywhere and he wasn’t sure why. But it followed him here as well. For one thing, the Dudrio the army assigned him was a troublemaker that liked to chew on his boots and nip at his ears. And today he had been assigned to perform two long patrols, this last one just him and the mischievous Dudrio. Bad, bad luck.

He tried to watch the land, but the whiteness of the snow burned into his mind. Dudrio wasn’t making trouble, but plodded along at a slow pace. Occasionally, they stumbled into a deep snowdrift. Both of them had the same thoughts: get done, go eat, then go sleep for ten hours no matter how much the commander yelled at them. It had been a long dreary day after a long night of guard duty.

Snow was falling, somewhat breaking up the monotony. But after a while, it got monotonous too. Ashton rubbed his eyes, then checked the sky. Sunridge had a famed Avian Guard, so the commanders had been adamant about insisting that not one bird was allowed to leave or enter the walled city... like that one up there now.

He squinted, but the bird was flying almost in the clouds, obscuring its form. It seemed a bit large for a Pidgeot... it certainly wasn’t any of the flying Pokemon that Slagle’s army used. Ashton took his rifle, loaded it, then fired at the strange bird.

There was a shrill cry of pain. For once, his luck seemed to be good, as he was much too weary to have actually made the shot on skill. He still couldn’t recognize the dark blue bird as it fell. It wasn’t like any that he’d seen. It was a bit of a shame that he’d hit such a magnificent and pretty Pokemon, though.

Wait... that seemed like one he’d heard of. That would mean...

Ashton grabbed his radio. His heart seemed to have jumped into his throat, yet somehow he got himself to talk. “Base 4, come in. This is Ashton and, I think I just killed Articuno.”

-+-

General Slagel came to the scene himself. It was Articuno, one of the Guardians of Kanto. The bullet had pierced through her side and lodged in her left wing bone. With that there, she would be grounded for weeks. One of the first responders had placed a restraint band around her neck, preventing her from attacking them. She couldn’t do anything right now.

The young soldier who had shot her was trying to hide his nervousness. But his skin was pale against his black hair, and he shifted his balance every few seconds. His Dudrio was looking to the ground with all three heads. Nearby, there were two wooden crates. Another soldier and a pair of Xatu were checking out what was inside.

“So you shot down a legend,” Slagel said to Ashton.

“Sir, I didn’t realize it was her, sir,” he said hurriedly. “I just saw a bird in the clouds and you had ordered all birds shot down.”

“Was she carrying those crates?”

“Y-yes sir.”

“What’s inside those?” he called to the other soldier.

“There seems to be a number of toys in here, sir,” he reported.

“Toys, is it?”

“Yes sir.”

“Strange. But no big loss. Let’s go back to base.”

“And just leave her... sir?” Ashton asked.

“It gives us a quick chance at Kanto territory if she’s not guarding the northern border. Good work. Finish your patrol and return with a full report.” And with that, he left.

Most of the soldiers left with him, even the Pokemon. But Ashton and his Dudrio didn’t leave. Neither did the two Xatu. The two Psychic birds seemed nervous, sticking close and looking at each other’s eyes. Ashton looked at them, then at Articuno. The bird looked at him sadly.

He couldn’t leave her this way, practically helpless. He could take the bullet out of her wing; he had, unfortunately, had to do that to his Dudrio once. He wasn’t sure if his partner had forgiven him of that incident yet. Besides, he had been taught to honor the legends, which meant not shooting one out of the sky. Perhaps if he helped, it could be forgiven.

Ashton turned to the Xatu. “Could one of you hypnotize her for a bit? I’m going to take that bullet out.”

They checked with each other. Articuno cooed. Then one Xatu nodded and flew over in front of her. He gazed into her eyes, humming oddly. She watched him until her eyes drooped and she fell asleep.

Ashton walked over to her left wing and examined the wound. Dudrio followed, looking at him curiously. “Hold her wing steady, but gentle,” he told him, then dug out a Potion spray to heal the wound in her side first.

Once that was clean, he turned to where the bullet was. It was in the bone, damaging it, but thankfully not shattering it. While it would be weak and prone to breaking for some time, Articuno could potentially get herself away. He took out his pocket knife and carefully pried the bullet out. Her wings were cold, enough that he could feel it through his gloves.

With that done, he took another Potion and sprayed it on this wound. It started to heal the flesh and killed any bacteria trying to infect it. Her bone, though, would take time to strengthen back up, if he recalled right.

He looked back at her face and saw her looking at him. He wasn’t sure when she’d woken up; hopefully not while he’d been using his knife. The restraint band was still on her neck, so he took that off. “There, you should be able to take care of yourself now.”

She made a warbling sound and gently nipped his nose with her beak.

He blushed and scratched his head. “Well, I guess you will have to rest here for some time. I’m really sorry about this. I have to get back to camp now, or we’ll get in trouble. Still, I’m not sure I want to leave you on your own...”

She bowed her head. She seemed sad. At least, that was his interpretation of that look.

“But really, I don’t want to get in trouble with Slagel. The punishments are severe. But then,” conflicted, he glanced around. The Xatu were still here. “You two. Could one of you stay with her while the other looks for the other two? You know, Zapdos and Moltres?”

They didn’t have to consult this time. ‘We can do that,’ the male said telepathically. ‘You should go back to camp and rest. Then take our Pokeballs and meet us back here.”

Ashton paled. “Steal your balls? B-but...”

‘It will work out,’ the female assured him.

“I, uh,” he looked back at Articuno, who nodded. “Okay, I guess. I’ll try. Come on, Donny.” He got back on the Dudrio and went back to base camp.

-+-

Winter was Zapdos’ least favorite season. It was harder to build up enough charge in the sky and in the ground to produce his noisy thunderstorms. He could still pull it off, though. With a wink of his eye, he managed a gorgeous branching bolt that struck Lavender Tower. “<Ha-ha, I bet that woke the ghosts up,>” he chuckled.

After the thunder’s echo ended, he heard chiming notes of distant music. The humans were indoors and weren’t going to let his games interrupt their festivities. He checked, but it was going to take time to get enough charge for another one.

Zapdos sighed. “<Gah, I’m soooo bored. Isn’t there anything to do?>”

He looked off to the west, into a mountain range. There was a volcano in that area. Was Moltres hanging about there? And where was Articuno, anyhow? His sisters had always been good for a flying game or an interesting conversation. He could go visit them.

But were they still mad at him? It wasn’t really fair, but they couldn’t understand his position. Technically they were neutral to gender, being the only ones of their kind. But their minds slanted to particular genders and he was the only one of the group that slanted towards masculinity. He liked to be competitive, proud, and brash. He always figured that it was something innately male that made him that way. But they, slanting towards the female side, they were about gentleness and gracefulness. Articuno was much too selfless, helping in situations she really shouldn’t be messing with. And Moltres was much too sensitive, taking things more seriously than they were meant to be.

In a way, he couldn’t understand how they were thinking either. He just knew that it was different. And that he didn’t really want to apologize. It had just been a joke, right?

They took things way too seriously. Zapdos huffed at the thought. Still, he felt lonely right now.

As he looked around, he noticed a flying Xatu headed his way. Odd. He thought they didn’t live around Kanto. It had to be a foreigner. Zapdos wondered if this bird realized who he was. He rubbed his wings against his body, making his static charge crackle.

Well he knew. He held his head up. “<Bad news, huh? Then you’d better have good reason to bring it to me.>”

He got up to Zapdos’ position and bowed his head. “<It’s your sister, Articuno. She’s been shot doqn and badly damaged.>”

“<What?! Who shot her?>”

“<A member of Slagel’s army. General Slagel told us to leave her as she was, but a few of us decided against that.>”

Guns were a worrying invention. If all it took was one shot to badly damage a Pokemon of their league, it could completely shift the balance of power in the world. Zapdos narrowed his eyes. “<Some Slagel guy, huh? Idiot. Well come on, let’s go wake up Moltres. I’ll think she’ll listen for this.>” He took off towards the suspect volcano, with the Xatu following behind.

-+-

People appreciated fire the most on winter nights. Its warmth, light, and protective nature was needed on these cold and long periods of darkness. Even now, when electricity warmed most of the human homes, those creatures still liked to have a fireplace with a comforting fire crackling away. Moltres was glad of this.

But both humans and Pokemon liked to gather together during this hard season. Moltres was alone. It was sad. She wanted to go see Articuno, to let her know that she didn’t agree with Zapdos’ boasting last time. But she also didn’t want things to seem like they were isolating their brother, even if he had been a jerk. She wanted to tell him to apologize to Articuno, but didn’t want to get into another argument with him.

It was really bad and she could see no way out of it. She rested on the side of a steaming volcano, thinking. She tried to keep herself occupied by observing the lava bubble underneath the plug of stone and ice. If the volcano showed signs of bursting, it was her duty to warm nearby Pokemon and humans of the danger. And winter was a terrible time for an eruption. There were thick sheets of ice and snow that would melt into terrible mud flows, and the rocks were particularly weak from water crystals growing inside cracks. Pressure was building, so it could happen.

A bright lightning bolt struck the volcano, blinding her for a second. The following thunder rattled her ears. Moltres growled before taking off into the clouds. “<Zapdos, you idiot! What do you think you’re doing? The volcano’s unstable enough as it is.>”

“<Getting your attention,>” he replied.

“<Couldn’t you just land politely and...?>”

“<Hang on, we can argue later.>”

“<Would you cut that out!?>”

“<Excuse me, lady of the lava,>” a Xatu with Zapdos interrupted, trying to be as polite as he could be. “<But it’s your sister; she’s been hurt.>”

She looked at the smaller bird. “<Articuno? What about her?>”

“<She got shot down past the northern border,>” Zapdos told her. “<He’s going to take us there, so are you coming?>”

“<Of course I’ll come.>” She glared at her brother. “<But you had better apologize to her now, all right?>”

“<Fine, I will. Let’s go.>”

The three birds flew north, past the border of Kanto.

-+-

It didn’t take long after he woke up for Ashton to recall what had happened yesterday. And what he had in plan for today. Grumbling to himself, he dressed as if going on another long patrol, then went to the supply tent to get restocked. Articuno probably wouldn’t mind the cold, he reflected, but she might appreciate some food. He picked up several seed and suet blocks for her and Donny... and the pair of Xatu, them too. Fortunately, the supervisor of the supply tent seemed half-asleep.

When his pack was full, he went to the Pokemon barracks to pick up his Dudrio. He pulled that Pokeball and... how was he supposed to identify the Xatu? There were a good dozen of them in Slagel’s army, as far as he knew. Ashton found the section they were in. There were nicknames by the registration numbers, but he had no idea who those birds were.

He checked one ball that held a Xatu, sliding the panel that hid the status screen. It reported that the resident was inside. So this one didn’t belong. He checked two more, and finally the next one reported that its resident, a male nicknamed Isaac, was ‘out-of-range’. Articuno’s position was far enough to trigger that warning, right? He checked the females until he found another ‘out-of-range’ warning for Holly.

Ashton looked around, but it seemed that he had woken up early. No one else was in claiming their Pokemon partners. He slipped the two extra balls into his pockets, then brought out his partner. “Come on Donny,” he whispered. “I don’t know if we’re coming back, but we have to leave before things get busy.”

Donny nodded, then held still as Ashton got on his back to ride out. They watched the other soldiers nervously. Slagel was notorious with discipline; he wouldn’t hesitate to order a beating, even in situations where the misfortunate one would be in danger. Punishments weren’t the only reason that his soldiers died; nearly everyone below command level was overworked, living in poor conditions.

But those who were awake seemed busy with their own tasks. The only one who acknowledged him was the gatekeeper. “Heading out again, Ashton?”

He nodded. “Yeah, again.”

“Somebody hates you. Anyhow, good luck, and get back quickly.”

“Is something going to happen?”

“While you were out yesterday, Slagel announced that we’re storming Sunridge this afternoon, then heading down to make a sweep into northern Kanto. They shouldn’t suspect anything.”

“I see. I’ll be back.” He tugged at Donny’s middle neck, ordering him to run out quickly.

If he was going to desert the army, he might as well save some lives in the process.

-+-

Articuno had slept most of that night, letting her wounds heal. “<But I do appreciate your company,>” she told the Xatu.

She nodded. “<You’re most welcome. I just hope he’s okay.>”

“<Your mate?>”

“<We’re not supposed to bond like that within the army, but yes. We kept it quiet between us. He could have reached them faster teleporting, but we do not know these skies.>”

“<That’s fine. I hope they don’t trouble him.>”

A Dudrio approached them. It was the soldier who shot her down again. She didn’t mind him, though. He had tried to make up for it. Ashton dismounted and walked up to them. “Morning. Did I get the right ones?” He pulled out two extra Pokeballs.

Holly nodded.

“Good. I brought some breakfast.” He pulled out three seed and suet blocks for them and some kind of energy bar for himself.

While they were eating, Zapdos and Moltres arrived with Isaac the Xatu. Zapdos landed by Ashton with a threatening look. “<What are you doing here?>”

“<Calm down,>” Articuno said. “<Even if he did shoot me, it was an accident and he’s been taking care of me. The rest of the army would have let me suffer.>”

“<Look, I’m sorry about last time.>” Zapdos shook his head. “<I was being an idiot, I suppose.>”

“<I understand. And I’m sorry for arguing with you.>”

“<Me too,>” Moltres added. “<And about burning your wing.>”

“<So can we never discuss that again?>” Articuno asked.

The other two nodded.

She nodded too. “<Good, then I have to find a way to Sunridge.>”

“<You shouldn’t really be flying,>” Moltres pointed out.

“<But I promised to get those supplies to them. The roads are blocked off, either by ice or soldiers, and the people need them.>”

“<That isn’t really our territory,>” Zapdos said.

“<But I promised,>” she sighed.

After being told a bit of what was being said by Holly, Ashton spoke up. “If you’ll pardon me for interrupting, I got news that Slagel plans on storming Sunridge this afternoon, and then heading into Kanto quickly. I, um, don’t plan on going back, although I’m not sure where to go now.”

“<Then we ought to stop them at Sunridge,>” Articuno said. “<They’ve attacked me, so I think it won’t harm the rules much.>”

“<But what do we do about this guy?>” Moltres asked.

“<Since he hurt our sister, he ought to serve us for a while,>” Zapdos suggested. “<That’ll be a suitable penance.>”

Holly told Ashton, who nodded. “All right, I agree to that. Articuno, my life is yours.” He crossed his arm over his chest in his trained salute, then realized he still had Slagel’s badge on. He unpinned that and tossed it aside.

“<Then we need to get these crates to Sunridge and warn the people,>” Articuno said.

“<But can you fly with your wing injured?>” Zapdos asked in concern.

“<If you must,>” Moltres said, “<then let me fly in front of you to make things easier. Zapdos, take the crates; I might burn them.>”

Ashton got back on Donny the Dudrio, who was cooperative enough to fly with the group. Moltres flew first, both breaking the air up and warming it to make it easier for Articuno to fly in her weakened state. Zapdos flew with the crates nearby, while the Dudrio and two Xatu flew last.

-+-

Sunridge City was a community on its own. There weren’t any regions it was connected to firmly, although it traded with nearby cities. Its trades were old, though: ceramics, weaving, textiles, and farming. Sunridge had a glorious past, although modern times were making it obsolete.

It was a walled city, surrounded by stone walls twelve feet thick and protected by a famed legacy of bird Pokemon. But those walls protected against old technology, not new. Slagel was holding a siege only because Sunridge had some secrets that he wanted. They were bound by ancient traditions to keep them secret, but could they manage?

Five children were having a snowball fight in the main square that morning. The main problem had been that they all wanted to be part of the Avian Guard and nobody wanted to be General Slagel. So they wound up fighting each other to see who would be the Master of the Guard.

There was a sudden rumble of thunder that made them pause and look at the southern sky. Three large birds came over the wall. The first seemed to be on fire, with her wings apparently little more than large red-orange flames. The second was bright yellow and brown, with jagged feathers that crackled with static. The third, struggling a little to keep aloft, was a beautiful blue as if she had been carved from ice. Three more familiar birds traveled with them.

“Wow, are those the Kanto Guardians?” a boy asked.

“What’re they doing up here?” a girl added.

The ice bird managed to get to the main square before she dropped to the ground; the way she held her left wing seemed to mean that she had been injured there. The other birds landed with her. The Dudrio had a human with him. His black overcoat was in the style of Slagel’s soldiers, but he didn’t have any badges or patches identifying him as a member of the army. The kids ran over to see the strange legendary birds.

One of the real Sunridge Avian Guards was in the square with his Fearow. He went up to the soldier. “Who are you, stranger?”

The black-haired soldier made a respectful bow and salute. “I’m Ashton, a former solider of Slagel’s army, now an attendant to Articuno here. She’s brought a donation of supplies from Cerulean City, but got injured on the way here. May we stay here for a little while so she can recover?”

The Guard scratched his chin, then said, “We wouldn’t deny assistance to her, but you... I’ll have the Master of the Guard speak to you later. For now, stay only in this square.”

“I understand. I also need to warn you that the army plans on a full attack on this city this afternoon. I believe Zapdos and Moltres are willing to help protect your city.”

Moltres nodded and Zapdos cawed.

“I see. Fearow, go get the Master now; he needs to hear about this.”

As the adults went to open the crates, the kids came up to the birds. “Can I pet you?” the youngest boy asked Zapdos.

He made an amused cooing sound and tapped the boy with his long beak. A small spark jumped to him; not enough to hurt, but enough to cause him to yelp in surprise, making the others laugh. Moltres echoed his laughing coo and teasingly nipped at her brother’s head.

“Hey kids,” one of the adults called, “the Kanto churches sent you something.”

“What really?” a girl asked.

He nodded and held up a cloth doll in a green dress and a wooden truck painted red. “Go get the other kids around town; they sent enough for all of you.”

The kids cheered and quickly ran off to the neighborhoods to find their friends.

-+-

Articuno smiled as the kids scattered in excitement. “<It was worth it.>”

“<Yeah, you would say that,>” Zapdos replied. “<I say it won’t be worth it until we knock some sense into Slagel and keep him from taking over this place.>”

“<You rest and don’t worry about us,>” Moltres added. “<These people will be safe.>”

“<I trust you. I’m glad we could come back together.>”

Pokedex OS- Still trying to capture every single Pokemon out there in words: 648/718 Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh complete!

The entries for these two are really exaggerated. Oddly enough, Meditite is more exaggerated than Medicham. Well, except for the 'Meditite eats one berry a day' compared to 'Medicham can go months without eating'. I took one of the extremes and tried to explain it.

In Process: Blissey
On Deck: Leafeon, Ludicolo/Shiftry, Torchic

MEDITITE
Emerald entry: It continually meditates for hours every day. As a result of rigorous and dedicated yoga training, it has tempered its spiritual power so much it can fly.

MEDICHAM
Emerald entry: Through crushingly harsh yoga training, it gained the power to foretell its foe's actions. It battles with elegant, dance-like movement.

“<Mind and body are one. Mind and body are one.>” The chanting Meditite was completely in tune with himself, but completely out of tune with the world. His large head was lowered, with his eyes closed, and his lean blue body was perfectly still. “<Mind and body are one.>”

Nearby, a Medicham was supporting her weight solely on her off-hand, the left. Her pink legs curled over her head in an apparently uncomfortable position, but she was in perfect balance. She had her own meditations to go through, but she was also watching this apprentice. “<That’s right. Continue>”

He didn’t seem to register her words, but she knew that he had.

She looked around the mountain for any potential danger. It was dusk at Mount Pyre. The air was tinged orange in twilight and many flowers were closing up. More importantly, the spirits of the mountain were beginning to stir. Every kind of ghost Pokemon in Hoenn could be found here, if one were patient enough. Even those only slightly ghostly, like the elusive Chimechos with their haunting bell calls, were here.

Ghosts were not good for herself and her apprentice. It was difficult to strike them and difficult to guard against them. But that was why their kind had always come up here for their most intense training. Tonight was one of those nights. Meditite had to continue his meditations through the moonless night in order to prove his dedication. He had to do this without moving from the spot he was in.

This was his first new moon meditation on Mount Pyre, which was why Medicham had come. Meditite was still working on focusing his mind and body into one whole, so he couldn’t spare any attention to the ghosts. She would be his main defense against mischievous possessions.

The orange shifted to red and the red shifted to black. The sun sent up a last golden glow over the western horizon, then dropped away. Now it was night. Now the stars gave off tiny speckles of light, breaking through the darkness. Down below, a lamp from the human inhabitants shone. The little stars and the distant lamp would be the only sources of light this night.

“<Mind and body are one,>” he continued.

“<Except when you don’t have a body!>” the first heckler called out. A chorus of hoots and laughter indicated that the ghosts were well aware of their presence.

“<We could always subtract your body for you,>” another added.

“<Hah, then you wouldn’t have to go through that stupid repetitive nonsense you’re yammering on about. How’d you like that?>”

“<Careful guys,>” a sly one added. “<He’s obviously just a baby if his mommy’s got to stick with him.>” That got a loud and rude response.

Medicham observed his reactions to this. So far, he chose to block them out. It would be an effective strategy, if he could maintain such ignorance after hours of continual taunting.

At least he was still working on his inward focus. That made this vigil less stressful. Once they reached inner balance and were able to focus outward, like she had reached, these long moonless nights were nerve wracking. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the darkness held firm. The ghosts would spend several minutes teasing them, then lapse into silence. The periods of silence were the worst, for it made one wonder, what were they plotting?

She shifted her hands, remaining inverted. There had been nights that she had not been able to stay on Mount Pyre, but her spirit was much stronger now. She meditated on the question of if the ghosts were able to remember and recognize different members of her kind. Certainly she couldn’t recall any individual among them; the ghosts kept to the shadows and rarely showed their faces. And they spoke no signs of remembering her from previous vigils. But what if they did remember?

There was a shuffle of rocks that put her on alert. The ghosts were making up some prank. Remaining in her position, Medicham glanced up the slope.

“<Mind and body are one,>” Meditite chanted on. His aura was building, indicating that he was close to some epiphany. But this wasn’t the time to interrupt him.

Her aura gave her a split second warning: the ghosts were sending a pile of loose rocks their way. Some of the rocks were quite substantial in size. Most would strike near her, but one was heading towards Meditite.

The minor rockslide rushed at them. Medicham braced herself, then flipped into the air. Focusing her mind and body to defy all apparent limits, she landed on the rock headed towards her apprentice, then pushed herself off it hard. The rock flew away from Meditite and continued on a different path than the other rocks. All that hit him were a few pebbles.

Then with elegant precision, she landed back on her right hand in the spot she had been meditating in.

The ghosts booed and hissed. They drifted away to leave the pair in silence. At least, for the moment. They would be back, with more pranks and more taunts.

“<Mind and body are one,>” Meditite chanted on. The rockslide had not interrupted his inward focus one bit. It was a good sign of his progress, but also why she had to be with him tonight. That one rock could have killed him and he wouldn’t have noticed.

His aura actually sharpened, she noted. His mind and body became so focused on becoming as one that his powers began deflecting gravity. For a full minute, he levitated a few inches off the ground. But those powers weren’t strong yet. When he fell back onto the ground, his concentration was broken.

“<What have you discovered?>” she asked him.

He blinked a few times, then resumed his meditation position. “<Gravity is what draws us to the planet, but if your aura is focused enough, you can push against gravity. You really can fly.>”

“<As have you just now.>”

He tilted his head. “<Really?>”

“<That was hardly an impressive flight,>” a ghostly heckler shouted out. “<What was it, only three inches?>” The rest laughed.

Meditite finally noticed their presence; his short fur began to stand on end. “<When did the sun go down?>”

“<Just long enough for the darkness to settle,>” Medicham replied. “<That was a good breakthrough, but now you must return to your meditations.>”

“<More like retardations,>” another ghost countered.

He took a deep breath, then returned his hands to his knees and closed his eyes. “<I must. Mind and body are one.>”

Pokedex OS- Still trying to capture every single Pokemon out there in words: 648/718 Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh complete!

Holy crap! You made Meditite and Medicham seem like gurus or nomads. They acted as if they were the Air Nomads from Avatar or something as well. This may of been a shorter chapter then usual, but at least you made some of the best offensive Pokemon seem like complete nerds!

I just finished catching up.
The Sudowoodo one, the Mystery Dungeon one, the Frosslass one, and the Legendary Birds one were my favorites.
Sudowoodo was refreshing and funny, and the MD one really made me laugh.
The Frosslass one was interesting, and the Birds one was just plain epic.
Like everyone else, I really think you should expand upon the Legendary Birds one; It gets the prize for my New Favorite Pokedex one-shot.
Can I request a Wailord/Igglybuff one please?

The Waillord/Igglybuff request reminds me of Finding Nemo: "I can speak Whale!" That ought to be interesting. Sometime later today, I'll be back with an end-of-the-year review. I think it's nifty.

So here is the reserve for New Year's Eve. The surprise egg is a traditional New Year's item; I think it's from South America, but I'm not certain on it. I made them a couple times and they're a lot of fun.

HAPPINY
Pearl entry: It carries a round, egg-shaped rock in its belly pouch and gives the rock to its friends.

BLISSEY
Emerald entry: If it senses sadness with its fluffy fur, a Blissey will rush over to the sad person, however far away, to share an egg of happiness that brings a smile to any face.

Lilac the Happiny hopped along the stools by the kitchen counter, excited by all the activity around her. The humans were preparing for the New Year’s Eve party tonight. They even had the neighbors over helping. Their little girl laughed at Lilac. “She looks like a happy fluffy bouncy ball,” she said.

“That she does,” one of the women said.

“<I’m happy, happy, happy,>” Lilac sang. She stopped over by her mother, a larger and prettier version of herself. The little Happiny dug in her pouch and pulled out a smooth oval rock. “<Here you go.>”

Chantal the Blissey smiled as she took the white rock. “<Why thank you, sweetie. It’s kind of you.>”

Lilac giggled, then hopped onto the counter. There were several cartons of eggs there, but no ordinary eggs. The humans had spent all day on these ‘surprise eggs’: cutting small holes in them, draining out all the contents, drying them out, then filling them with sparkling confetti and glitter, and finally sealing them back up. Apparently at midnight tonight, they were going to smash these eggs over each other’s heads. It sounded fun.

The mother in the neighboring family pulled out the container with all the yolks and whites. “So what are you going to do with this?”

“I’m making my special eggnog,” the Trainer of Chantal replied. She was pulling out several kitchen tools from the drawers. “But you only want a little bit of this at a time.”

She laughed. “One of those ‘special drinks’, I see?”

“Not exactly, if I know what you’re thinking. Have you ever had a Blissey’s egg?” She glanced over as Lilac pulled one of the surprise eggs out of the carton. “No, Lilac, those are for later.” She picked up the Happiny and placed her back on the stool.

Lilac pouted. “<Aw, I just wanted to play.>”

Chantal took the white stone and gave it back to her daughter. “<Here, have this.>”

She grinned as she took it. “<Yay, I have an egg now!>” She put it in her pouch and began hopping across the stools again.

Footsteps thudding down the stairs announced the arrival of Lilac’s Trainer, a fifteen year old girl. She was dressed oddly today, in her darkest colored casual clothes, black if she had it. She even had a black hair ribbon to tie back her long brown hair. And she’d used a different kind of makeup too, one that made her face paler. It was a look that she’d been shifting into for the past few weeks, but hadn’t gotten dramatically dark until today.

Lilac hopped over to the nearest stool, then squealed and waved her arms. “<You look spooky! What happened?>”

The girl patted her absent-mindedly. “Mom, I’m going over to Jeremy’s party now.”

“You be careful, Sunny,” her mother responded while she measured things out for the eggnog. “Don’t let them pressure you into doing anything you don’t want to.”

“I know.” She grabbed her coat and turned to leave.

Lilac hopped off the stools and ran over. “<Hey, hey, what about me?>”

Sunny shook her head. “Not tonight; I can’t take a Happiny to a party with the cool kids, sorry.”

She drooped as the door slammed shut. “<Aw, why not?>”

Chantal came over and picked her up. “<It’s okay. She’ll play with you tomorrow.>”

“<I hope so.>”

Sunny’s mother sighed. “I get worried about her hanging out with those kids. I can’t see anything really wrong with them, but they’re so pessimistic and brooding. Kids shouldn’t be like that.”

“They’re being teenagers,” the other mother said. “It should be just another phase.”

“I hope that’s all. Still, I’ve seen that Jeremy boy wearing a t-shirt that said ‘The world is hopelessly lost’. It sounds awful.”

The Blissey considered that, tilting her head. “<On the other hand...>”

Lilac squirmed around. “<What, mom?>”

She put her down. “<Let’s go after Sunny and see what those kids are all about. But we’ve got to be sneaky and not get caught.>”

She giggled. “<Sneaky! Cool!>”

After leaving the house, the pair of Pokemon found the teenager walking along a path. By moving quietly behind bushes, they were able to sneak up on her. It did help that she was distracted in thinking about the party.

“Jeremy is just too awesome and cool,” Sunny said to herself. “Everybody wants to be like him. And if I talk to him enough, I might be able to get him to be my boyfriend tonight.” She squealed, then stopped and shook her finger. “No, not like that. He’s not interested in girls who squeal. I have to be cool and mysterious like him.”

“<Why’s she talking to herself?>” Lilac asked.

Chantal hushed her, then continued following as the girl began walking again.

“Cool and mysterious,” she repeated. “Only the night will listen to my cries. That’s perfect.”

“<Is she sad? Should we make her happy?>”

The Blissey frowned, then brushed the fur on her arm back. “<She’s not sad, just pretending to be so. She’s actually excited and hopeful.>”

“<Huh? But then why would she say something awful sad like that?>”

“<I don’t know. I’ve seen people act happy when they’re really sad, but not act sad when they’re really happy. Let’s keep following for now.>”

A couple blocks over, they arrived at Jeremy’s house. The party was being held in the backyard. It was all teenagers there; not a single adult was around. Gritty music was playing on the stereo and nobody was dancing. The kids were all talking or playing a card game. A group of Pokemon hung around, but they were all spooky or creepy sorts, like three Grimers, several ghosts, and a Honchkrow. Strangest of all, to Lilac’s eyes, was the fact that they were all wearing black or near-black. Some wore a vivid red too, but it didn’t help to lighten the spookiness.

Sunny walked up to a boy in a long black coat and longer red scarf. “Hi Jeremy,” she said in a bored sort of voice, then sat down with the group around him.

“So you came to my cheap party too?” Jeremy asked sarcastically. “Are you also ignoring everyone’s weak-minded attempts to wish for a happy new year?”

She sighed. “Yeah. It’ll still be the same boring stuff over and over again.”

“<Mom, why are they all acting upset about the holiday?>” Lilac asked, tugging at her mother’s skirt frill. “<They should be happy and celebrating.>”

“<I still don’t know why,>” Chantal responded. “<None of them are truly unhappy, although a number of them are bored. Let’s see if they’re just waiting on something to happen.>”

So the Happiny and Blissey sat and watched the party. Nothing seemed to happen. All the teens talked and complained about whatever they were talking about. They drank the punch and ate the snacks, but then called out on the host on being cheap (something he seemed strangely proud of). The card players griped about losing or acted as if winning was nothing but chance. And there was never any dancing, singing, real playing, or laughing.

After an hour, Lilac huffed. “<This is the worst party ever. There aren’t even any balloons.>”

“<Hardly a decoration,>” Chantal agreed, eyeing some origami boxes made from black paper.

Sunny was still talking to Jeremy. “I know my name doesn’t fit in,” she said, looking embarrassed to be talking about it. “I thought about changing it, though. Something like Luna, maybe.”

“It is awful that people can name you before they know what you’re going to be like,” Jeremy agreed.

“<All right!>” she cheered as her mother leapt the fence, surprising some kids lounging in lawn chairs on the other side.

“<Let’s ring in the happiest new year!>” Chantal called out, throwing a cloud of mystical sparks in the air as her daughter somersaulted to the ground.

The teenagers all stared, not sure if they should mock the Blissey or cheer with her. The party-going Pokemon mumbled, having been content with the lackluster bored air. Jeremy bolted up in his chair, eyes wide. “Hey, who let those two losers into my party?”

“<Sunny, Sunny, Sunny!,>” Lilac called out, scrambling over to her Trainer with her arms held up. She hopped into her lap without asking. “<Don’t change your name.>”

“They belong to my mom,” Sunny answered, trying to salvage some pseudo-bitterness to keep face around this group. “Did she send you two after me?”

“<No,>” Lilac answered.

“<We came to make this party a party,>” Chantal said as she pulled her last egg from her pouch. She tossed it up spinning, then caught it. “<So everybody can be openly happy and not falsely sad!>” Next, she expertly cracked off the top half, revealing a soft boiled inside, and presented that to Jeremy. “<I’ve only got one right now, so it goes to the host. I’d have brought some eggnog too, but that might be a little strong for you kids.>”

Jeremy looked at it puzzled. “An egg? That’s weird.”

“How’d she cook it without a fire?” another kid asked.

“She just does from time to time,” Sunny answered. She considered for a second, then added, “They are pretty good, to tell the truth.”

“An egg a Pokemon cooked on its own?” Jeremy asked skeptically. “Guess it’s no big deal.” He took a bite of it.

“Do we have to put up with such pink and pastel Pokemon hanging about?” another girl asked darkly, getting a few laughs. “They’re for little kids and sick people, not us cool party people.”

“<This party’s not very cool,>” Lilac complained. “<It’s no fun at all to just sit around complaining about nothing to do.>”

“<You have no clue about the coolness of an epic lament,>” a nearby Ghastly sneered.

“Wow, these are really good,” Jeremy said. Then he laughed. “That’s amazing that you can do that, Blissey. Thanks.”

While the kids around him gasped, Chantal bowed. “<You’re welcome. I’m always glad to make others glad.>”

“Is that some kind of happy drug?” the rude girl said loudly. “That’s crazy.”

“It is not a drug,” Sunny said sharply. “It will leave you a little weird for a bit, but it’s perfectly fine.”

“It’s really great,” Jeremy said dreamily, then held the rest of it up to her. “You want a bite?”

She cringed. “Not if it’ll kill my cool.”

“It’s not like that,” Sunny muttered, uncertain of if she should glare at Chantal and Lilac for crashing the party or at the other girl for making nasty remarks about them.

Jeremy laughed. “Kill your cool? Come off it. You know that it’s all fakery and facade.”

The rude girl was now puzzled. “Uh, yeah, we know others are fakes...”

“Everybody here is fake,” he went on. “Especially me. I act all depressed and stuff because it gets all you girls attracted to me.”

“What?” at least three girls nearby (including Sunny) asked in shock.

He shrugged. “So what if I get dates out of pity? I still get far more dates than any other loser in school, which means that I am the best guy around.” He smiled, too blissful from the egg’s influence to care who heard him.

“Is that it?” Sunny asked, standing up in a flash of temper. “I came to this terrible boring party and you’re just faking everything?”

“I probably wouldn’t get any girls if I didn’t fake stuff so well,” he responded.

Sunny went over and slapped him across the face. “Well that’s what I think of that!” Then she stormed out, carrying Lilac with her. Chantal, and soon after, every other girl at the partly, followed her lead.

Lilac popped her head over her Trainer’s shoulder and stuck her tongue out at the Ghastly. He responded in kind, spooking her into gasping and looking away.

When it was just her, Lilac, and Chantal, Sunny put her Happiny down. “Sorry for that, girls. And, thanks. If I’d have known that he was a true loser, I wouldn’t have gone to that stupid party in the first place.”

“<You live and you learn,>” Chantal encouraged, patting her on the back.

“I never really liked how I looked in all this black anyhow.” Sunny pulled the black ribbon out of her hair. “I guess there’s still time for me to clean up, change, and go to the other party. I wasn’t looking forward to the cheesy games, but it’ll be better than all that bad poetry about ‘another awful new year’, right?”

“<Of course you have time,>” Chantal said, nodding.

Lilac squirmed while trying to wave her arms. “<Yay, we’re gonna go to a real party! Let’s smash some eggs over people’s faces!>”

Her mother chuckled. “<Over their heads, dear, and only the surprise eggs.>”

Pokedex OS- Still trying to capture every single Pokemon out there in words: 648/718 Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh complete!

Aw! That was a really cute chapter. Lilac was acting like a little girl on New Year's Eve, and Blissey was acting like a stereo-typical mother. Very well done! Anyway, you described everything perfectly, and there might be one grammar error, but you still get an A +!